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So I see a lot of people asking what ideal gaming headset they should be using and a TONNE of conflicting information on whether a certain headset is good/bad. With this topic I'll be trying to clear up the confusion, define some different categories of headphones, dispel some myths but most importantly give some tips on getting you the sound that will blow you away, whether it be for music, gaming or movies.
What will you be using your headphones for?
This is an absolutely critical question you need to ask yourself. There is a good setup for almost any purpose at numerous price points in this day and age. Do you only need a setup for gaming on your pc/laptop? Or do you listen to music as well? Would you like to take the system on the go to connect to your MP3/laptop?
What is your budget?
A defined budget at the outset helps focus on what components you need instead of browsing for months on end and just wasting time. This also links to the above point, with $300 you can afford a great headphone/ in-ears and a DAC/AMP [ glossary ] to come later.
Do your research
Never take one person's advice [ even mine (: ] as sound is subjective to a degree. What I enjoy might not be to your taste and vice versa. The best way to find out if something works for you is to try it first hand of course, but in the market for expensive headphones that can be difficult. Hence, use Head-fi as a starting point and do a search and take it from there. The more you read, the more you'll end up knowing about the world of audio.
Now let's get down to the juicy stuff!
Headphones vs IEMs
IEM's
What the heck are IEM's some of you may be asking? IEM stands for In Ear Monitors, such as ![[image loading]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VElvkB24lqs/S7gtAnL22UI/AAAAAAAAAA8/ltJ8NYuzVGo/s1600/IEM.jpg)
They're earphones essentially, but the critical difference between IEM's and ordinary crappy earBUDS that come bundled with iPhones/iPods and most mp3 players nowadays is that IEM's fit inside your ear, as in they plug into your ear like so ![[image loading]](http://cdn.head-fi.org/e/ed/eddb12e2_different_styles_for_IEM.jpg)
By being directly inside your ear, they block outside noise incredibly efficiently and of course, the sound is directly channelled into your ears rather than going all over the place [ the reason why you can hear "music" when someone using the iPod earphones ]
The problem with In-Ear-Monitors is that they're very hit or miss. Everyone's ears are unique so what may be a perfect fit for one may be atrocious for some. Some people just hate them because the feeling of having something penetrate the ear so deeply just doesn't work for them. However, IEM's are incredibly portable, the better ones sound absolutely spectacular ( but usually command a correspondingly spectacular price tag ) and they isolate outside noise very well, much more so than the headphones that claim to be "noise cancelling" [ more on that later ].
Headphones
Headphones have exploded in popularity of late with people walking around with $500 iPhones in their pockets and $300 dollar Beats on their heads. I would have normally said " I'll dispel the Beats myth " later but this needs attention, along with another myth.
DO NOT BUY BEATS OR A GAMING HEADSET
I'm positive I'll cop a lot of flak for this, but by god this needs to stop. Beats aren't rubbish, that's true. But at it's price point, there are vastly superior offerings from lesser known brands. Gaming headsets similarly are mostly garish offerings from companies that know almost next to nothing about creating a headphone. Plantronics, Steelseries, Turtle Beach are all brands to be avoided in regards to headphones. [ That being said, steelseries do make some epic peripherals that aren't headphones so props to them in that regard ].
Open or Closed?
Open headphones are just that. They're open to the outside world so your music/gaming sound will be heard by others, and others talking/traffic/general noise will leak in and will be heard. They offer a typically clearer and more detailed sound than closed and are cherished by high end audiophiles. If you're only going to be using headphones at home/quiet private environment, absolutely get open headphones [ suggestions to come later ].
If you live in a dorm [ as I do ] or if you have a family that's always yelling at something [ as I do ] or if you travel quite a bit by bus/train [ as I do ] then a closed headphone is more preferable. Closed headphones also have stronger thumpier bass than equivalent open headphones.
Circumaural vs. Supra-aural
What on earth? Clueless on what circumaural vs. supra-aural is? They're really just fancy terms for how headphones fit over your head. Circumaural headphones have earpads that completely surround the ear like so~![[image loading]](http://cdn.head-fi.org/f/f9/f91b1124_MDR_XE700_GRAPHIC-1.jpeg)
Because they surround the ear, they're typically more comfortable than supra-aural and are better suited for long gaming sessions. Supra-aural headphones meanwhile sit on the ears, pressing the ears against the head. ![[image loading]](http://www9.pcmag.com/media/images/222616-sennheiser-pxc-250-ii-on-ear-view.jpg)
In terms of sound and comfort, circum-aural headphones usually come out on top but this is dependent on the headphones themselves. Some circum-aurals are incredibly heavy or "clamp" the head incredibly tight [ which leads to stronger bass but can be uncomfrotable ]. This can be fixed easily by leaving them clamped around a sofa chair arm or a ball overnight though.
![[image loading]](http://cdn.head-fi.org/9/94/9404dd6e_120301213499c6e5965ba46774.jpeg)
Try wearing these $8000 babies for longer than a minute. I dare you
Noise cancelling or noise isolating?
Even though these two terms sound interchangeable, they are very different ideas. I'm sure most people will have at some point come across these "noise cancelling" earphones/headphones. Simply put, the "active noise cancelling" headphones picks up external sound through a microphone and creates a sound wave that negates the incoming noise.
![[image loading]](http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/noise-canceling-headphone-6.jpg)
Sounds great right? There are quite a few problems with headphones that offer "active noise cancelling " though. Firstly, they're vastly more expensive than an equivalent headphone sans noise cancelling. Secondly, they need more parts than a normal headphone and thus is heavier. A noise cancelling headphone needs the typical components of a headphone, along with a microphone to pick up outside sound, circuitry to produce a sound wave to negate the outside sound and a battery to power the aforementioned parts. Third, by creating sound through the speaker to negate the external sound there is an audible hiss and usually muffles the music/sound that you want to hear. However, there are some active noise cancelling headphones that are tremendous which I will recommend later.
I've been going at it for the past three hours now, going to get back to my paper I'll be back to finish this off sometime soon hopefully. Still to come are recommendations for headsets, open and closed headphones, noise cancelling headphones and IEM's for different budgets, along with a discussion of soundcards, the important things to look out for when buying a gaming headset and more. Let me know if there's something you think that needs adding. Post a comment, any comments are greatly appreciated. Adios!
EDIT FOUND A GREAT RESOURCE!
http://www.overclock.net/t/1014902/ocns-most-recommended-audio-products#post_13493402
Calvin
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Hey nice one 
as i just started looking for a new headset.
Use: Music listening mainly, but nice game sounds would be cool too of course.
Budget: less than 100 € preferably.
The problem with my current ones is, they were really cheap and even if i turn everything to max, music just isn't loud. Though on my old mainbord it was loud. I can't use my sound system late at night, while gaming late at night cause of my neighbors, so i need a headphone for loud music. My mainbord could be a problem in that regard, cause it's an ASRock H61M-S and on my old MB the sound with the same headset was waaay louder.
Are there any headphones (with some kind of integrated amplifier or so) that can play music REALLY loud for less than 100 €? Or do i need a better mainbord / external soundcard for that?
I'm really new to this topic, so don't smash me if it's just a stupid request 
Thanks in andvance anyways.
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On March 10 2012 08:37 PlmpPlaya wrote:Hey nice one as i just started looking for a new headset. Use: Music listening mainly, but nice game sounds would be cool too of course. Budget: less than 100 € preferably. The problem with my current ones is, they were really cheap and even if i turn everything to max, music just isn't loud. Though on my old mainbord it was loud. I can't use my sound system late at night, while gaming late at night cause of my neighbors, so i need a headphone for loud music. My mainbord could be a problem in that regard, cause it's an ASRock H61M-S and on my old MB the sound with the same headset was waaay louder. Are there any headphones (with some kind of integrated amplifier or so) that can play music REALLY loud for less than 100 €? Or do i need a better mainbord / external soundcard for that? I'm really new to this topic, so don't smash me if it's just a stupid request Thanks in andvance anyways.
Try Grado SR-60
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On March 10 2012 08:37 PlmpPlaya wrote:Hey nice one as i just started looking for a new headset. Use: Music listening mainly, but nice game sounds would be cool too of course. Budget: less than 100 € preferably. The problem with my current ones is, they were really cheap and even if i turn everything to max, music just isn't loud. Though on my old mainbord it was loud. I can't use my sound system late at night, while gaming late at night cause of my neighbors, so i need a headphone for loud music. My mainbord could be a problem in that regard, cause it's an ASRock H61M-S and on my old MB the sound with the same headset was waaay louder. Are there any headphones (with some kind of integrated amplifier or so) that can play music REALLY loud for less than 100 €? Or do i need a better mainbord / external soundcard for that? I'm really new to this topic, so don't smash me if it's just a stupid request Thanks in andvance anyways.
This is caused by electric resistance in your headphones and doesn't equate to quality. You need a stronger headphone amp. They're usually integrated with sound cards but in hifi and studio environments often external. Cheap external ones should retail for minimum 30 euros.
I would just buy a pci-e audio card, though. Same price, more fun.
Looking forward to OP's review of active noise cancellation headphones! I've never really heard a pair that doesn't completely destroy the timbral integrity.
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What is wrong with wearing that 8000$ headset? I mean, at that price they must be incredibly good
Why should brands like Steelseries be avoided? I think they make great gaming headsets, but I don't have one myself. Is this the same with Razer?
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Expensive makes it expensive, not necessarily good. (It might be good, I have no idea, but read up on the "speaker cable" hoaxes and you turn a skeptic eye to headphones >$1000.)
Style-branded headphones (or gear in generally) such as gaming equipment or hifi equipment tend to be overpriced because of the branding. They might lack experience and lack business intelligence in these new products, which means they can't get equally good deals from manufacturers, and they seldom manufacture parts themselves.
I'm sure the OP could detail this better though.
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Steelseries and Razer don't specialize in making audio equipment, hence why you avoid them if you are looking for something good.
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in my experience regarding steelseries is that the siberia v2 is pretty nice. however with that you get a mic too, so its not 100% for audio
anyway, for in-ear buds or ear monitors, Sennheiser are in my opinion the best. good sound quality and they dont break easily. Skullcandy are also good, however ive found they break pretty easily if you dont treat them really well.
side note: avoid noise cancelling headphones, the ones in particular that create a fake white noise are fucking appalling.
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If you shouldn't purchase gaming headsets, what kind of headsets do you advocate for the sub $80 range? I know some people say just get a clip on mic with a decent pair of headphones but are there any decent headsets out there?
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On March 10 2012 10:12 optical630 wrote:
in my experience regarding steelseries is that the siberia v2 is pretty nice. however with that you get a mic too, so its not 100% for audio
anyway, for in-ear buds or ear monitors, Sennheiser are in my opinion the best. good sound quality and they dont break easily. Skullcandy are also good, however ive found they break pretty easily if you dont treat them really well.
side note: avoid noise cancelling headphones, the ones in particular that create a fake white noise are fucking appalling.
This is precisely the misleading information I tried to clear up with this topic.
A quite big number of pro gamers use the siberia v2 ![[image loading]](http://xsreviews.co.uk/modules/FCKeditor/Upload/Image/IcematSiberia/stock.jpg)
pic included for those not sure what it is, I'm positive the pic looks familiar. However, they sound absolutely horrid for music, unbelievably so. Many of the "reviews" of the headphone that speak in its favour are planted Planted review 1Planted review 2
How do you tell? Look for the "I would like to thank Icemat for supplying the review sample." That statement equates to " Thanks to icemat for giving us this product and other goodies for free, all we have to do is say some good things about it!"
IEM's are not only made by Sennheiser or Skullcandy as people would lead you to believe. Sure, some of the big names such as Sony, Sennheiser and Shure [ hmmm I sense a pattern ] make some astounding IEM's, but its the small players who don't spend millions in marketing but instead in R&D and the product itself that provide the best sound for value. Brands such as Vsonic, Soundmagic, Meelectronics and Atrio are incredibly obscure but offer brilliant IEM's at incredibly affordable prices. Sennheiser are usually overpriced and skullcandy focus on style rather than sound.
As a quick peek to what's to come, one of the noise cancelling headphones that receives my stamp of approval which I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone in the market is the Audio Technica ANC7B. It's a mouthful I know but it's not often that you get great sound, noise cancelling, stylishness and affordability in one package. They're comfortable, sound great and the noise cancelling actually works unlike some other models.
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I want to hear TL users' opinion on the Sennheiser HD598 with a FiiO E17 DAC/AMP. I'm actually more interested in knowing the bad about the setup more than the good since the hd598 receives too much praise from the head-fi community.
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Nice thread! I bought some Sennheiser HD 650s along with a Burson HA-160DS DAC/AMP just for listening to music on my PC. I mostly listen to music while laddering but If i'm not playing any games I'm usually looking just searching for new music. For me the the getting some nice audio equipment was well worth it.
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No offense, but I have my fair share of audio experience and gear and I have to say your statement about Beats and gaming headphones is absurd. I understand your sentiment of trying to help get people get better audio quality (subjective) for their dollars, but at the same time - who are you to judge?
Like you said so yourself, every listening equipment is made for a certain use. I admit gaming headphones to be of inferior quality relatively speaking to audiophile-marketed products but you must keep in mind that they are entirely different products. Gaming headphones have mics (with some having background noise cancelling features) and are usually made of lighter plastics instead of metals to rest easier on your head for long gaming sessions. These headsets are usually extremely convenient (plug+play/breathe easier), do not require an amp; nor does it benefit significantly from a high-end DAC. I argue that they are much cheaper and better than audiophile-marketed headphones for gaming purposes.
You explain everything well except when you interjected your personal opinion. Not to brag on the internet, but amongst my friends we all own a few flagships each and yet we don't talk shit about gaming headphones/Beats. They all have their own merits to certain kinds of people and I respect that.
For a guru who wants to help people the point about Beats/gaming headphones is short-sighted.
P.S HydrogenAudio is also a good place to check out more information about audio.
P.P.S The more you read Head-Fi the more you get to know about FOTM (flavor of the month), the bandwagonning, and the politics/business interests.
P.P.P.S This guy is pretty awesome
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On March 10 2012 16:21 ThePurist wrote:No offense, but I have my fair share of audio experience and gear and I have to say your statement about Beats and gaming headphones is absurd. I understand your sentiment of trying to help get people get better audio quality (subjective) for their dollars, but at the same time - who are you to judge? Like you said so yourself, every listening equipment is made for a certain use. I admit gaming headphones to be of inferior quality relatively speaking to audiophile-marketed products but you must keep in mind that they are entirely different products. Gaming headphones have mics (with some having background noise cancelling features) and are usually made of lighter plastics instead of metals to rest easier on your head for long gaming sessions. These headsets are usually extremely convenient (plug+play/breathe easier), do not require an amp; nor does it benefit significantly from a high-end DAC. I argue that they are much cheaper and better than audiophile-marketed headphones for gaming purposes. You explain everything well except when you interjected your personal opinion. Not to brag on the internet, but amongst my friends we all own a few flagships each and yet we don't talk shit about gaming headphones/Beats. They all have their own merits to certain kinds of people and I respect that. For a guru who wants to help people the point about Beats/gaming headphones is short-sighted. P.S HydrogenAudio is also a good place to check out more information about audio. P.P.S The more you read Head-Fi the more you get to know about FOTM (flavor of the month), the bandwagonning, and the politics/business interests. P.P.P.S This guy is pretty awesome
"Beats aren't rubbish, that's true. But at it's price point, there are vastly superior offerings from lesser known brands. Gaming headsets similarly are mostly garish offerings from companies that know almost next to nothing about creating a headphone. Plantronics, Steelseries, Turtle Beach are all brands to be avoided in regards to headphones."
What merit do Beats have in comparison to a similarly priced headphone or even cheaper headphone? Like I said, taking price out of the equation sure they're not as bad as most head-fi'ers make them out to be, but when it comes to value they're pretty bad for their price point. In terms of gaming headphones, there's really no reason to be buying something like the Tritton AX Pro when a simple AD700 + a Zalmann clip on offers a better system in every possible way.
If you have any recommendations for gaming headsets, please do let me know. Because I certainly can't make any in good conscience. Likewise, if you can recommend the Beats to anyone please do so.
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Gaming headphone manufacturers are the best at making gaming headphones. This is a fact that you aren't admitting by generalizing that all headphones are the same. How is the heavy LCD2 or a T1 better gaming headphone than a gaming headset that costs 1/10th or even less? Or even your AD700+Zalman mic? I can critique this all day and you'll dismiss it as it is merely my own opinion.
Music listening headphones aren't the same as gaming headphones and should not be contended/pitted against each other. It's pretty stupid IMHO. It's like saying if you can get a Ducatti that beats a performance car for MUCH LESS - DON'T GET THE CAR! Just because they are both transportation vehicles (and listening equipment) it doesn't mean they should be grouped together. They both have their tradeoffs and I don't understand why you think gaming headphones are so bad.
The most common headphones I see on the streets in my area are Beats. Clearly people like them enough to justfiy their pricetags - Do the owners of Beats need to justify their personal purchases to others? Very simply, It's a matter of personal choice and if I were to say I like Beats more than HD800 because it looks cooler what is anybody going to do about it? Nothing. Bang for buck or whatever factor you want to argue, is moot simply because I could like Beats better. It's nice of you to bring up how there are alternatives, but you shouldn't enforce this opinion of how nobody should buy Beats.
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I've had my razer carcharias since august and I love it. Pretty good sound quality, long cord, and most importantly they're really freaking comfy. I can wear them all day and not notice. They are like pillows on your ears lmao.
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On March 10 2012 16:21 ThePurist wrote:No offense, but I have my fair share of audio experience and gear and I have to say your statement about Beats and gaming headphones is absurd. I understand your sentiment of trying to help get people get better audio quality (subjective) for their dollars, but at the same time - who are you to judge? Like you said so yourself, every listening equipment is made for a certain use. I admit gaming headphones to be of inferior quality relatively speaking to audiophile-marketed products but you must keep in mind that they are entirely different products. Gaming headphones have mics (with some having background noise cancelling features) and are usually made of lighter plastics instead of metals to rest easier on your head for long gaming sessions. These headsets are usually extremely convenient (plug+play/breathe easier), do not require an amp; nor does it benefit significantly from a high-end DAC. I argue that they are much cheaper and better than audiophile-marketed headphones for gaming purposes. You explain everything well except when you interjected your personal opinion. Not to brag on the internet, but amongst my friends we all own a few flagships each and yet we don't talk shit about gaming headphones/Beats. They all have their own merits to certain kinds of people and I respect that. For a guru who wants to help people the point about Beats/gaming headphones is short-sighted. P.S HydrogenAudio is also a good place to check out more information about audio. P.P.S The more you read Head-Fi the more you get to know about FOTM (flavor of the month), the bandwagonning, and the politics/business interests. P.P.P.S This guy is pretty awesome
Very well put.
This is something that has always bothered me in the other audiophile thread in the general forum.
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I really enjoy threads like this (i.e. the new build suggestions thread) because it adds value to the community - I hope you don't take it as I'm threadcrapping because I really don't mean it. I (and I'm sure many others) appreciate you taking the time to summate a lot of knowledge for the community - it's just that I found the Beats/gaming thing to be detracting from your main intent and the purpose of your thread.
I clearly see you want to help out TL which is awesome, so I'm not going to argue any further as it may derail. But if you want we can PM.
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Is there a -real- review that favors / recommend Beats to audiophile (taking into account the quality of other headphones at the same price range ) ?
Cos what I see right now is just some people being pissed at OP for taking the conventional audiophile stance of not recommending Beats and gaming headset.
Sure a lot of people use Beats, then again a lot of people eat McDonald. Often enough popularity does not correlate with quality.
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Solid Guide. Real readable.
On March 10 2012 17:11 ThePurist wrote:
The most common headphones I see on the streets in my area are Beats. Clearly people like them enough to justfiy their pricetags - Do the owners of Beats need to justify their personal purchases to others? Very simply, It's a matter of personal choice and if I were to say I like Beats more than HD800 because it looks cooler what is anybody going to do about it? Nothing. Bang for buck or whatever factor you want to argue, is moot simply because I could like Beats better. It's nice of you to bring up how there are alternatives, but you shouldn't enforce this opinion of how nobody should buy Beats.
As for the beats and speaking from my experience, most people who buy them don't really know much about headphones. Its more of a default well I want some good headphones and i hear them dre beats are really good. Not to mention that their is immense celebrity support for the beats.
While you can make the argument that people shouldn't be told what to buy, I feel that the OP was merely saying if you want headphones for audio quality chances are you can likely get "better bang for your buck" if u stay away from the beats. Of course we're presuming here an objective standard of better the merits of which can be debated.
No one would say you shouldn't get the beats if you just like them, but its important to note that if you are buying for sound quality there are better stuff out there, a fact that in my experience many people just do not know.
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EPT
